26 Facts About Puerto Ricans

1.

Puerto Ricans are the people of Puerto Rico, the inhabitants, and citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and their descendants.

FactSnippet No. 629,169
2.

Culture held in common by most Puerto Ricans is referred to as a Western culture largely derived from the traditions of Spain, and more specifically Andalusia and the Canary Islands.

FactSnippet No. 629,170
3.

Puerto Ricans Rico has received immigration from other parts of Spain such as Catalonia as well as from other European countries such as France, Ireland, Italy and Germany.

FactSnippet No. 629,171
4.

Puerto Rico has been influenced by African culture, with many Puerto Ricans partially descended from Africans, though Afro-Puerto Ricans of unmixed African descent are only a significant minority.

FactSnippet No. 629,172
5.

Also present in today's Puerto Ricans are traces of the aboriginal Taino natives that inhabited the island at the time of the European colonizers in 1493.

FactSnippet No. 629,173
6.

Original inhabitants of Puerto Ricans Rico are the Taino, who called the island Boriken; however, as in other parts of the Americas, the native people soon diminished in number after the arrival of Spanish settlers.

FactSnippet No. 629,174
7.

Some Puerto Ricans are of British heritage, most notably Scottish people and English people who came to reside there in the 17th and 18th centuries.

FactSnippet No. 629,175
8.

The first large group of Jews to settle in Puerto Ricans Rico were European refugees fleeing German–occupied Europe in the 1930s and 1940s.

FactSnippet No. 629,176
9.

Under Spanish rule, Puerto Ricans Rico had laws such as Regla del Sacar or Gracias al Sacar, which allowed persons of mixed ancestry to pay a fee to be classified as white, which was the opposite of "one-drop rule" in US society after the American Civil War.

FactSnippet No. 629,177
10.

Study of a sample of 96 healthy self-identified White Puerto Ricans and self-identified Black Puerto Ricans in the U S showed that, although all carried a contribution from all 3 ancestral populations, the proportions showed significant variation.

FactSnippet No. 629,178
11.

The Canarian cultural influence in Puerto Ricans Rico is one of the most important components in which many villages were founded from these immigrants, which started from 1493 to 1890 and beyond.

FactSnippet No. 629,179
12.

The vast majority of the Africans who were brought to Puerto Rico did so as a result of the slave trade taking place from many groups in the African continent, but particularly the West Africans, the Yoruba, the Igbo, and the Kongo people.

FactSnippet No. 629,180
13.

Many Puerto Ricans are consciously aware of the rich contribution of all cultures represented on the island.

FactSnippet No. 629,181
14.

Puerto Ricans Rican migration to the US northeast started as early as the 1890s, however it was a very, very small flow at the time.

FactSnippet No. 629,182
15.

The official languages of the executive branch of government of Puerto Ricans Rico are Spanish and English, with Spanish being the primary language.

FactSnippet No. 629,183
16.

Spanish of Puerto Ricans Rico has evolved into having many idiosyncrasies in vocabulary and syntax that differentiate it from the Spanish spoken elsewhere.

FactSnippet No. 629,184
17.

The Spanish of Puerto Ricans Rico includes occasional Taino words, typically in the context of vegetation, natural phenomena or primitive musical instruments.

FactSnippet No. 629,185
18.

Puerto Ricans became citizens of the United States as a result of the passage of the Jones–Shafroth Act of 1917.

FactSnippet No. 629,186
19.

Since this law was the result of Congressional legislation, and not the result of an amendment to the United States Constitution, the current U S citizenship of Puerto Ricans can be revoked by Congress, as they are statutory citizens, not 14th Amendment citizens.

FactSnippet No. 629,187
20.

Since 1948, it was decided by Congress that all Puerto Ricans, whether born within the United States or in Puerto Rico, were naturally born United States citizens.

FactSnippet No. 629,188
21.

Puerto Ricans and other U S citizens residing in Puerto Rico cannot vote in presidential elections as that is a right reserved by the U S Constitution to admitted states and the District of Columbia through the Electoral College system.

FactSnippet No. 629,189
22.

Nevertheless, both the Democratic Party and Republican Party, while not fielding candidates for public office in Puerto Ricans Rico, provide the islands with state-sized voting delegations at their presidential nominating conventions.

FactSnippet No. 629,190
23.

However, Puerto Ricans Rico is represented in the House of Representatives by an elected representative commonly known as the Resident Commissioner, who has the same duties and obligations as a representative, with the exception of being able to cast votes on the final disposition of legislation on the House floor.

FactSnippet No. 629,191
24.

Puerto Ricans residing in the U S states have all rights and privileges of other U S citizens living in the states.

FactSnippet No. 629,192
25.

Puerto Ricans have fully participated in all U S wars and military conflicts since 1898, including World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.

FactSnippet No. 629,193
26.

Puerto Ricans Rico has held four referendums to determine whether to retain its status as a territory or to switch to some other status such as statehood.

FactSnippet No. 629,194